The Pressure to Perform
by intenserunner
Summary: Evelyn Bolton, the daughter of Troy and Gabriella faces the pressure to be faster,and is thinking she needs to be thinner. Will her parents even notice the problems she is facing, or are they just too busy with their lives?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own high school musical**

Evelyn's P.O.V

Well, I guess you really couldn't call me a normal child. My name is Evelyn Bolton and I am the daughter of Troy Bolton, an NBA star, and his high school sweetheart, Gabriella Bolton, a famous fashion designer (not really what anyone expected from her).

I am spoiled rotten and whenever I want something, I get it. The only thing is, sometimes all I want is time with my family, which I can't always get because they are ALWAYS working.

I go to East High (where my parents went) and am on the cross country running team, as well as the track team. What can I say? I just love the feeling of my feet hitting the ground and my heart pounding in my chest. Distance is my strong point. I just can't understand how a race that's over in 15 seconds would make you feel as good as one that's over in a good paced 41 minutes, my best 10km time.

* * *

No one's P.O.V 

"Bolton, if you don't start putting in the miles and produce better times, I don't know if I'll have room for you on my team," Coach Eckert said to Evelyn as everyone was doing their cool down stretches.  
"Oh, Coach, I promise! I'll start to try harder; I just need to get out of this summer rut! I promise I will practice more! Please just give me another chance!" She pleaded.  
"Relax," he said, "just prove to me, you belong on my team," He stated, and then left.

* * *

"Mom, when's dad coming home?" Evelyn asked her mother the oh-so-common question.  
"Honey, he'll be home late, he has a game tonight." Gabriella said sympathetically. The truth was she hated putting her daughter through this. It was either her father wasn't home, or she wasn't home, they just didn't have the time. 

"Ugh, he either has a game, or a practice, this happens every night. I just don't understand how people can get so much joy out of 'running' up and down a gym with a ball!" She complained.

"Haha," her mother laughed, "it's what your father likes, and I'm sure people wonder how running around and around a track brings people such joy," she smiled.

"Oh mom," Evelyn began; face light up, "It's just an incredible feeling!" She exclaimed, "I cannot even BEGIN to describe it. In fact, Coach says I need to train more, so I'm heading to the track to do some intervals before school tomorrow!"

* * *

"I just feel bad, Troy, our daughter isn't getting the time with both her parents that she needs!" Gabriella whined. 

"Gabs, I'm sure she doesn't mind, teenagers don't really like spending time with their parents anyway," Troy said as he dressed for bed after his shower.  
"I know," she pouted, "I guess it's just me missing you too. I mean, when I'm at work, you're home, and then when I can finally get out of work, you have practice or a game!"

"Gabby, this will all settle down soon enough, I'm sure of it," He said, climbing into bed, next to her, "Now, I'm beat, so goodnight," He said, kissing her, then turning off the light.  
"Goodnight," She mumbled, and fell off to sleep.

* * *

"1:32, perfect first lap," Evelyn smiled to herself looking at her watch.  
"3:08, darn, I'm slowing down," She thought as she approached the 800 meter mark, and immediately started to try to pick things up. 

This was Evelyn's 6th mile repeat for the morning, aiming at a 6:08 pace, which she had achieved the previous 5 times, but was beat. Her goal time was 38:20 for her 10km race coming up, which would require a 6:08 mile. That time would beat the record set the previous year by her best competition, Victoria Armstrong. Seeing her face just made Evelyn run even harder, so that's what she did as she pictured Victoria in her mind.

It was a bit to fast as the next thing she realized, everything went black. Coach Eckert, who had been watching Evelyn the whole morning through the window, came bounding out to see how she was.

**This is my first fanfic, please review**


	2. Chapter 2

Evelyn's P.O.V

This morning Coach told me not to be such a baby. He said that with my pace, I shouldn't have passed out, that maybe I should try harder. So I did. At lunch time, I did some hill repeats, and I just finished our team workout, an hour run through the park.

After showering, while I was getting dressed, I realized something. All the girls around me, clad in their sports bras, getting dressed, were pretty much flat, and I could probably count all their ribs if I wanted to.

Well, if that's what makes them faster, maybe it would work for me too. Maybe I need that body. So thin that you could see my ribs. So thin that I could be snapped in two. So thin that I could run like the wind.

* * *

No one's P.O.V

As Evelyn walked through the door, Her mother appeared immediately with a huge smile on her face.

"Ev, we're having a family dinner!" She exclaimed, "It's your favorite, homemade lasagna."

"I'm not hungry. I'm going to bed," Evelyn mumbled, and went to her room.

Gabriella's smile turned into a frown as she called for her husband.

"It's okay, baby," Troy said, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, "She'll come out and eat with us, as a family. Just give me a minute, I'll go get her," He said, and went upstairs to knock on her door.

"Go away! I need my sleep, I have to wake up early tomorrow," She screamed at the closed doors.

"Evelyn, you have to eat, you just had a practice. You must be starving!" Troy said.

"I went out to eat with the team after," Evelyn lied. She wasn't even friends with anyone on the team. They were all too cocky for their own good and they barely ate anything anyway.

Troy sighed, "Okay, we'll save you some leftovers then honey," he said, and turned around to find Gabriella giving a small smile, "I guess it's just you and me babe," he whispered into her ear. She giggled and pulled him down the stairs.

* * *

A Week Later

"Evelyn, what is wrong with you," Allison poked her.

"What?" She came out of her day dream, "Oh... It's nothing. Look, sorry guys, I have to go do some work in the school gym. I'll see you guys in Science," She said to her friends, and walked off.

"What is with her?" Brooke asked.

"I don't know, but she's been like, so totally out of it lately" Kaitlyn said.

"Her whole life now revolves around running. I swear she is probably at the track and the park more than she is at home!" Allison exclaimed.

* * *

"Everybody, go do your warm-up! Today is your guys' lucky day, it's conditioning day!" Coach exclaimed and everyone groaned, but went off to do their regular warm-up routine.

"Drop down, and give me twenty!" He screamed.

"KEEP DOING THE SPRINTS UNTILL I TELL YOU TO STOP!" He yelled across the field.

"What are you, WEAK?" He yelled at one of the girls. Evelyn was terrified he would yell at her next, so tried her best to be in his good books.

"We'll finish off with some lunges, then some one legged squats. Come on people! We only have a month until our first meet. I only have a month to whip you all into better shape, so you better do as I say!"

* * *

"Today was brutal," One girl said in the change room while cleaning herself up.

"Tell me about it. I hate conditioning days!" Evelyn was standing by these two girls who were talking in front of the mirror. She was just fixing her hair up, when she heard a noise. It sounded like someone was sick in the washroom.

"Are you okay?" Evelyn asked.

"Yeah, just a hard day," The girl tried to smile, and then walked off.

"Everyday is a 'hard day' for her," The two girls started whispering.

"Anorexic!" The one coughed, and the other laughed.

Hey, that's an idea, Evelyn thought. That way I can eat whatever I want and not have to worry… just go for a quick bathroom visit after I eat.

**Reviews are greatly appreaciated**


End file.
